Naperville Country Club Green Department: soil

Showing posts with label soil. Show all posts

The flowers are displaying the unfortunate consequence of dealing with a variety of weather conditions. The hail from Monday night has left the flowers tattered and torn, but they will survive.

We are will be planting the flowers around our flag pole today. However, the first step is to remedy a soil problem that has developed through the years. Every winter when snow is removed, the circle drive receives a large pile of snow. Usually, the snow has salt mixed in with it from the previous time the circle drive was salted. Over time, this has resulted in excessive amounts of salts in the soil, which has led to a decline in the flowers through the season. This year we are starting by removing the soil that is in the circle drive and replacing it with fresh soil. After some warm weather and rain, which are both in the forecast, the flowers should get a good jump start for the year.

Divots, unfortunately, are an unavoidable result of members and their guests enjoying the Club. Divots will be present at all times, and repairing those divots is a constant effort of the membership, the staff and ..... the golf course! Yes, the golf course plays the most important role in the recovery of divots. Once a divot is taken we ask members to replace the divot if it is still in tact. The Grounds staff then fills any divots that are not able to be replaced. Once the divot has been replace or filled, the area has been prepped for a full recovery. It is up the the course at that point to heal the grass. This picture, and these 4 divots, were take on October 3, 2013.

Immediately after these divots were take, they were repaired using 3 different methods. One was left unrepaired. I will refer to the divots from left to right as 1-4. Far left is 1, far right is 4.
-Divot 1 is repaired with soil only.
-Divot 2 is not repaired.
-Divot 3 is replaced.
-Divot 4 is repaired with seed and soil.
Some notes after they have been repaired. The replaced divot (3) is barely noticeable. Divots 1 and 4, though they have been repaired still look like divots. This is why we ask golfers to always replace their divot if possible. It will heal quicker, and looks better after it has been replaced. Now that all (except 2) have been repaired, we have to rely on the course to heal itself.

Here is a follow up picture of these divots taken today. 7 months after they were repaired! Though divots 1 and 4 have been repaired, they are still visible, because the last piece of the puzzle - the course healing itself - has not had an opportunity to happen. Any divots that were on the course at the beginning of October or have been taken since the beginning of October have not had the opportunity for the course to heal them. The weather has been too cold. Unfortunately, the best time for divots to heal is also the best time for golf on the course. This is why there will always be divots on the course to heal.

We will be adding divot bottles in the fairways starting this weekend for members to fill divots if they are not able to replace it. Now that the warmer temperatures are beginning to arrive, and the course will be able to do its part in the recovery process, all three sources of recovery will be in place for the golf season.

And remember, FIND IT! FIX IT! IT RECOVERS QUICKER!

The primary playing surfaces have been cleaned, bunkers raked, and holes cut. The greens are back in play on Saturday for the 2014 season. Though the calendar says April 5th, the weather has not acquiesced. Early spring conditions prevail on the course. We have also completed our spring aeration, so greens will be sandy, bumpy and slow for the weekend. The key phrase is "in play", not necessarily "in shape" yet. The soil has thawed, the grass has greened and they will safely accept traffic, so get out and satisfy your golf cravings in some sunny weather.

Our greens aeration was originally scheduled for April 7th. However, with the great weather on Monday and Tuesday this week we moved up the aeration to take advantage of the great weather. As usual, growing conditions will dictate how rapidly the holes will heal. With some sun, and warmer soil temperatures, it will not take long.

April 2, 2014

March 27, 2012

It is funny to look at the two weather extremes side-by-side. 2012 was a very mild winter with a very early spring. 2014 is the exact opposite. Warm weather and time will get us to this point. Unfortunately, we can't control either one.

Along with the post from yesterday, the USGA has been releasing a series of videos "fore the golfer" regarding course etiquette. Here is a video regarding course etiquette with the golf cart.

We began our fairway aeration process on Monday. Two fairways were completed Monday and we are attempting 2 more fairways today. This is a process that will span the period of a few weeks. We will be completing this practice around golf and weather, so players should expect to see us as they play.

There are several parts of this process which will result in the work lasting a few weeks. We are topdressing the fairways heavy with sand. We are then using one aerator with a solid tine to create a large deep hole then following that with another aerator that is pulling a small core. We then drag all of that together and clean up whatever is left.

This will cause a large amount of disruption to the playing surface and a period of time will be needed for the fairways to heal. With the frosts that are now predicted, healing time will be delayed due to the slower growth of the grass.

The greens have recovered from the scheduled aeration that took place last Tuesday. 8 days after aeration they are back to putting well. We did not push them back to normal due to the forecasted heat. The putting green has not been as rapid in its recovery. The heat and traffic that the putting green has been subject to has delayed its recovery. When the weather accommodates it, we will be able to fertilize the green and it will recovery shortly.

You will also see some white dots around the edge of the green. This is the last part of the aeration process. We will leave the outside pass on the greens for a few days, then use the dots to keep the collar a consistent width on all the greens. The grass will grow out of the dot in a few days as well. Refer to this post (Soils and Water: Greens) to review the benefits of aeration. 8 days to recover during high heat is a small cost to the benefits of this practice.

Our greens were constructed with a sand mixture during the renovation project. From the previous post, this gives us the benefit of large air spaces in the soil. Those large air spaces allow for water to move through the soil profile very rapidly and space for roots to grow. Two very important benefits for an area that is subject to such high demands.

The picture on the right is of a profile from one of the greens. This profile is an example of how we want the profile to look. Clean consistent soil throughout the full profile. We can also gather from this that there exists an excellent root mass in the profile. The root mass is dense enough to keep the sand profile in tact through the depth the core. You can even see a tiny root sticking out the bottom of the sample. Our objective is to keep this profile in this condition over the long-term. This will allow for the consistent, high-quality playing surface the golfers expect.

Towards the top of the sample on the right, it appears to have a darker color. This is the organic matter that exist in the soil from the constantly growing turf we talked about is the previous post. This layer is why we intensively manage the surface with verticutting, topdressing and aeration.

This profile better displays the organic matter layer that is in our greens. This is typical of greens that have been constructed with a sand. This organic matter has built up since the greens were constructed. It is not likely that we will ever be able to completely rid the greens of this organic matter, but we are able to manage its development. From the previous post, I mentioned that organic matter in the soil has the ability to hold a large amount of water. Aside from the myriad of agronomic issue that would be created if this organic matter build-up was ignored, the playing surface would become soft, spongy and inconsistent. The problems arise when the consistent flow of water through the profile is inhibited by the amount of organic matter at the surface. Our goal is to dilute or remove the organic matter through topdressing or verticutting and aeration. By consistently incorporating these practices into the management of the greens, we can keep the organic matter at a low enough level to maintain the benefits of the sand based soil and a uniform profile. This will then allow us to provide the firm and smooth conditions of a high quality playing surface.

This post comes a few days after we completed an aeration of the greens. This picture shows the new sand channels through the organic matter. We removed a core from the soil, let it dry, then dragged the sand off the core and back into the soil. The organic matter that we removed does not break up and we are able to blow the debris into piles and remove it from the green. These sand channels provide for a more consistent movement of water through the profile.

The consistent movement of water through the profile is the reason these practices are done. The consistent growth of the grass is the reason that they need to been done as often as possible.

We were able to complete the majority of our scheduled greens aeration today. We have cored and cleaned all greens. We will need to complete rolling the back nine greens in the morning. Our electric roller is not able to finish the greens after an aeration due to how soft the greens are immediately following the procedure. Greens will be soft, bumpy and slow following aeration. They always are. But, they always get back to normal after a few days. Our first priority will be to get the greens smooth again. Soon after that, the familiar ball roll distance will be back to normal as well.

The second post in this series will give a very brief overview of what soils are made of and how those parts interact with water. We can build from this in the future posts that will be more specific about each area of the golf course. The preferred soil for providing a high quality playing surface has a large amount of air space for roots and water to move through the soil.

Soil consists of sand, silt and clay particles along with an organic component. The fractions of sand, silt and clay in a soil determine its suitability for providing a high quality playing surface. This figure on the right is one of the first diagrams that is learned in a soils class. When the fractions of each soil particle in a given soil have been identified, you can use this diagram to classify the soil.

Sand particles are larger than silt particles which are larger than clay particles. The larger the particle, the more air space between the particles. If you have a bowl in your kitchen and fill it with oranges, there will be large empty spaces in the bowl between the oranges. If you fill that bowl with grapes, the empty spaces between the grapes will be much smaller compared to those that the oranges create. The larger the particle, the larger the air space between the particles. It is much easier for water and roots to move through a larger air space in the soil. So, there is a larger air space between sand particles than there is air space between silt particles, which has a larger air space than between clay particles. This is why soils that are higher in clay are much slower to drain.

The other component of the soil that was mentioned earlier is organic matter. In the turfgrass soil, this organic matter comes from dead tissue from the grass plant (because there are no trees nearby, right). This organic matter has a high capacity to hold water. As a result, water is slow to move through organic matter because of its ability to hold the water as it attempts to pass.

It is not accident that this string of posts comes in conjunction with the beginning of our aeration this fall. The following posts will be more detailed about the specific areas of the course, and why we do the maintenance practices that we do.

This will be the first of a series of posts that will discuss water in soils. We talk all the time about the importance of controlling moisture in the growing environment of the turf. However, we have not given the same amount of attention to moisture in the soil. The soil is what the plant grows in. The soil is how the plant receives the water and nutrients that it needs to sustain an appropriate playing surface. The soil is not a topic that regularly floats around the Member's Grill after a round either. Just because it is not something that is seen by the golfer does not mean its importance can be discounted. So, naturally, the relationship between soil and water has a great impact on the quality of the playing surface that the golfer does see.

Aside from mowing, most of what we do is an effort to influence soil properties. Fertilization, aeration, topdressing, vertical mowing, etc. are all done to provide a favorable impact to the soil over the long-term. "Long-term" is the key phrase in the last sentence. These practices do not have an immediate impact on the quality of the playing surface. As these are performed on a regular basis and begin to compound across a longer time horizon, the benefits outweigh the short-term disruption that may result. The reason these practices need to be done on a regular basis is a function of the continuously growing grass. Grass needs to grow to recover from wear and stress of all forms. As a result of the continuously growing grass, these practices can never be skipped.

At the core, these practices are done to influence how the water moves into the soil and through the soil. In these posts I will attempt to address how moisture in the soil impacts the long-term health and playability of the greens, tees, and fairways. Maintenance practices on our greens and tees are very similar, but differ from what we do on the fairways. However, the goal of these practices is the same across all surfaces - provide a firm uniform playing surface.

Our fall aeration gets kicked off next week when we start with the greens on Tuesday September 3rd. There will be a regular flow of aeration happening through the fall on all surfaces. Greens will be first; tees, fairways, approaches and roughs will all be done with different methods on a regular interval throughout the fall. We are mindful of the golf schedule when we schedule these type of practices. However they are necessary, and long-term benefits certainly outweigh any short-term disruption of the surface. I intend to have other posts that address aeration and its goals in more detail this week.

I received several surprised reactions when people learned that carts would be available for golfers today. This was on the heals of 1.2 inches of rain yesterday evening and last night. No doubt we missed the brunt of the storms, but the course was in great shape after that amount of rain. We perform several maintenance practices that may present a short-term disturbance, but the long-term benefits are evident on days like today.

All through the season we are continuously monitoring the course after rains to identify potential areas for drains. Every spring and fall we try to do 2 or 3 of the worst draining areas. This spring we completed a drain near 1 tee that would hold water for very long periods of time, which created problems for the carts that drove near there (post here). We also installed a drain at 8 approach (post here). This was not a large area, but being so close to the green, it was often in play. We had other areas in mind for drains, but the abnormally wet spring has delayed those drainage projects until fall. Last year we complete 2 large drainage projects-one on 11 fairway, and on at 14 approach-both of these projects provided a noticeable benefit to the playability of the course.

Our fairway topdressing program is continuously displaying its benefits. As this project continues through the years, the growing sand layer allows for water to better percolate through the surface of the soil. This topdressing, combined with regular drainage projects provides and excellent playing surface through a wide range of weather conditions.

We always aerate as much as possible. This creates holes in the soil that allow air and water to better exchange between the soil and air above. Though the grass may cover the holes on the surface, the channels in the soil last for extended periods of time.

These practices show a very slight disturbance to the playing surface. But, their long-term benefits far outweigh any inconvenience that may be created. That is evident on days like today.

Another project that was done last Monday was at 8 green and involved a drain and some new sod. This bank in front of the green was almost completely bentgrass. (You can see how much bentgrass is on the slope by comparing the color of the dew covered grass on the slope with the color of the grass in the fairway) Bentgrass at green/tee/fairway height will create a fine playing surface, but at rough height will create and uneven mess. Having this spot of bentgrass so close to the green after slogging the first 600 yards of the hole could result in a very difficult chip. We decided to cut it out and replace it with bluegrass and install a drain in the approach and at the bottom of the valley while we were at it.

This valley in front of the green was abnormally wet for extended periods of time as well. After trenching a little we noticed why. The top layer of soil looks good, but under it was not. This light brown and light gray under the top layer was very high in clay and will not drain well. This drain should prove to be a great benefit to the area as well.

The drain extended out into the approach and a few laterals were installed to it as well. This will help the approach drain better after rains also.

Here is the finish product a week later. It will take a couple of weeks to get the seems to grow together and get the pieces rooted enough to allow foot traffic on it. We do have signs up near this area to remind golfer to stay off. This area should play much better this season compared to previous seasons.

Most of the crew started back to work last Monday, and a few more began work yesterday. It is nice to have the crew back and try to get into a routine for the season. With the weather still stuck in February, we are trying to get some projects done while mowing is not even on our to do list yet. The first project was the installation of drainage at 1 tee. The area between the end of the cart path and the fairway regularly held water much longer after a rain than other areas on the course. With the amount of traffic through this area, it regularly created issues with where to rout traffic. This was completed at the end of last week. This area should gradually get better through the year.

Other projects are on the horizon and a few have been started this week. We have removed a declining tree and removed some over grown and old bushes. Other projects will include a refreshing (but no significant changes) of the clubhouse landscaping and some more drainage.

There are examples on several greens throughout the course of damage from traffic over a frozen green. This is why we play to a location in the approach rather than allow traffic on frozen greens. There are many days during the winter when the weather is sunny and warm, but the soil and the portion of the turf canopy closest to the soil is still frozen. The growing point of the grass plant is in this area of the canopy just above the soil surface. Exposure to any type of compression while frozen with damage that portion of the plant. The brown leaf blades on the greens in the shape of a dog's paw(or coyote) show what the damage looks like. This is the same damage that would occur if traffic is allowed on frost covered grass.

Most of the spots on the greens are from a paw prints. However, 10 green has some significant damage from foot prints. Perhaps somebody was playing to the greens in the winter when they should not have been? I do not know.

These areas should grow out, but it will take time.

It may feel like the winter is dragging on, but this spring is much more normal than last year. We continue to watch the weather patterns closely and monitor the course for its progress, but we are not getting any closer to opening the course. It is always interesting looking back at pictures from the previous year. This picture was taken today.

This picture was taken on March 20th last year. At this point we had mowed the greens, tees and fairways multiple times. We were in the middle of an unprecedented 9 straight days of 80 degree weather.

The sleet and freezing rain coming down now is still good for the precipitation, but the freezing temperatures are delaying any progress that can be made towards opening the course.

These two pictures do a good job illustrating the contrast from last year to this year. This pictures was taken on March 14th last year. The soil had thawed, dried and grass was growing very well by that time last year with these soil temperatures.

Compare that with this picture taken today. The surface of the ground is still frozen. I was able to find an old aeration hole to insert the thermometer.

Once the soil thaws, we will wait for any excess moisture to dry which will allow traffic on the surface without creating ruts. After that we will need a few days to get the greens prepped for play after there long winter nap. We do not have a projected opening date set for anything yet. We will keep you updated with any changes as they occur. We are ready for the winter to be over!

We make several references on the blog about trafficed areas. These are the areas that receive a disproportionately large amount of cart traffic or foot traffic. Traffic on the course packs the soil and removes air from the soil. Roots can only grow in air pores that exist in the soil, the more the air is pushed out of the soil from traffic, the less space there is for roots to grow. This results in thin, weak turf that is more vulnerable to unideal growing environments (hot and dry weather this summer).

Though these areas may show thin turf on the surface, the problem exists underneath the surface. We fix this by adding more air space in the soil through the removal of a plug during aeration. This was done yesterday around the bunker edges in the fairways.

In other areas across the course, the cart traffic is spread enough for the compaction to be relieved through our regular aeration and the freeze and thaw cycles through the winter. Here is a picture of Torres deep tining the fairways. This started yesterday and should be completed today. We will do this as many times as we can before the ground freezes. The more air we can get into the soil the better the turf will be.

The persistent warm and dry weather this year is beginning to show in the usual areas of cart traffic wear. The constant traffic on these areas and the resulting soil compaction leads to a shallower root system and a weaker plant. We have ropes placed to control cart traffic in these areas, but the golfer can help us by dispersing traffic patterns as they move around the course.

These two pictures show the traffic patterns of the carts on the course. It is evident in the top picture how concentrated the traffic is between the bunkers on 9 fairway. The weak turf in this area is a function of the cart traffic. The picture on the left shows the usual traffic pattern down the middle of the 8th fairway. Next time you are on the 8th fairway, look at the turf in the middle of the fairway and compare it to the turf on the left half of the fairway. As much as I want to believe the weaker turf in the middle is a result of relentless play from the middle of the fairway, my observations lead me to believe that cart traffic may be the offender. The turf on the left half is in much better condition due to the lack of traffic. Helping the turf in the middle is as simple as make a conscious effort to drive on the left half rather than the middle.

This picture illustrates how we are able to move the traffic patterns with the ropes. Even with the ropes up, we would still like golfer to try and disperse traffic from the usual pattern.

Areas where carts leave the cart path are notorious for traffic wear. If you see an area like this, and there is no rope, try to drive a little farther on the cart path before you make your way to the fairway. This will help these areas until we are able to change the ropes in that spot.

11 fairway is slowing beginning to look like it did before we began throwing soil with the trencher 4 weeks ago. 3 days of rain delayed work the second week into the project, and rain with Thanksgiving last week delayed more progress. Our original projection of 2 weeks turned into 4 weeks.

Other than the weather delays, the project did go as planned. We did add 2 more drainage basins to the originally planned 2 for a total of 4 basins on the main line of the drain pipe. All laterals went in as planned. One irrigation line was broken during the work, and that occurred while trying to dig around the pipe by hand - a notable accomplishment considering irrigation lines were crossed more that 30 times!

We are currently finishing up sodding the laterals, and anticipate having this project completed and ready for winter by the end of the week. We are already beginning to see the benefits of the drainage tile. This fairway was showing none of the usual signs of receiving 1.25" of rain this past weekend.

The rain held off just long enough for us to complete the areas that we wanted to have done before the rain came. The greens have been aerated, topdressed (will be topdressed again soon to completely fill the holes), and fertilized. The tees have been aerated, verticut, topdressed and fertilized. The approaches have been aerated, but we have not topdressed them yet. That will likely be done next week.

We did not make any progress on the fairways yesterday. The machine broke down, and will be a few days before the parts arrive to fix it. However, we will be continuing the fairways with our other aerators today. Our verticutter for the tees also broke down yesterday. (getting towed back to the shop on left) Fortunately, only two sets of tees did not get done. Fairways 11 and 14-18 have not been aerated yet. We will be working on them this week, but won't complete them until early next week.

The rain that we received overnight did a good job of working in the sand on the greens. It will take a few days of growth to get the sand worked in better and start the road back to smoother greens. Until then (probably sometime next week), the greens will be slow and bumpy.

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